The Ophian
"For longer than your race has existed, we have thrived and ruled the lands to the north. Our cities of gold stood mighty over our kingdoms, reflecting the majesty of the Sun. Now our cities lie in ruins, and we have been forced from our lands. In our time of need, Talarra has taken us in and accepted us. For this, the Ophian tribes are eternally grateful, and together, we will stand to defend Talarra, our new home, against the ominous undead threat." (Favoured Taak, addressing the Talarran Council of Men) Physical Appearance: The Ophian are a visually varied race, resembling snakes, lizards and even frogs. Whilst they all have scaly skin and no body hair, their appearance depends on their particular tribe. Those tribes from the rainforest areas tend towards bright scale plumage, reds and blues and greens, often a mix of these. Those from the more swampy regions tend to have more muted colours. Grey, black, and dark greens and blues are very common amongst the swamp Ophian tribes. There is also a more in depth study of ophian biology . Social Structure and Culture: In Ophian culture, there is almost no social mobility. Those born to slave parents will be cast as slaves from birth, and will be 'gifted' to a master from a very young age. Those of richer parents are cast into either the academic or business aspects of society for their lives. At the complete extreme of the scale there are the noble class or Ophian, the 'Favoured'. They live a life of luxury, surrounded by wealth and slaves. The Favoured essentially rule the Ophian tribes, and command their peoples as they see fit. Each Ophian tribe has a High Favoured, an individual (or married pair) of greater wealth and importance than anyone else in the tribe. Although they technically hold the power over every single activity of the tribe, they tend to delegate to their lesser Favoured, enabling them to live in true hedonism. Despite the lack of upward social mobility, there is most certainly downward mobility. A Favoured can be cast down by a vote by his peers if he is deemed to be unfit to hold his position. This can also occur if an Ophian spends all of their familial wealth, and thus has to sell their possessions in order to live. All Favoured Ophian receive a very high level of education and are amongst the most widely learned people in the world. In general, the Ophian are talented architects, as they have spent many millennia perfecting the art of designing and building large temples, monuments and palaces for their Favoured masters. The Ophian love gold and diamonds, and as a nation they are incredibly wealthy. Ophians can recognise the social status of any other Ophian simply by the amount of jewellery that they are wearing, and can treat them accordingly. The Ophian adhere to strict social rules on etiquette, and will never disrespect those who are more important than they are. This trait has led to much confusion amongst the Ophians as they arrive in this land, as the human expression of wealth is less opulent and obvious than they are used to, and thus the Ophian find great trouble in distinguishing between the rich and poor of human culture. This has led to caution, and the Ophian are polite to any stranger, for fear of overstepping their social status. Home Land: The Ophian come from the region far north of these lands, in a sub-tropical climate. Some areas are thick and dense rainforest, with others being perilous swampland. Rain is heavy and the air is humid which, coupled with the intense heat, leads to a very intense and harsh climate to live in. Because of these conditions, the Ophian have never seen snow or ice, or even experienced much in the way of cold temperatures.